Prong sorting apparatus



Aug. 29, 1961 R. w. WINBERG 2,998,119

I PRONG SORTING APPARATUS Original Filed May 2. 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1FIG. 2.

J) j INVENTOR. 24 g; RAG/VAQ m lam ems 1961 R. w. WINBERG 2,998,119

PRONG sommg APPARATUS Original Filed May 2. 195s a sheets-sheet 2'IIIIIIIIIIIJZ'IIIiI/IIIII'I/IIIIIIIIIIIIL'.

FIG. 5.

. IN V EN TOR.

R A GNAQ W W/IVB 126 Aug. 29, 1961 R. w. WINBERG PRONG SORTING APPARATUSOriginal Filed May 2. 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 8.

INVENTOR.

RAG/VAR W. [40/1 5506 q Patented Aug. 29,1961.

7 Claims. (Cl. 19833) The present invention relates to sorting andclinching mechanisms, and in particular to a machine for thesemiautomatic clinching of prongs of the type having an open eye and aprojecting elongated body or stem. Advantageously, the present machinefinds application in the manufacture of a wide variety of buckles. Thisis a division of copending application Serial No. 582,164 entitled,Prong Sorting and Clinching Apparatus.

In the manufacture of buckles having a body or frame part and a prongmounted thereon, it has heretofore been the practice to manuallyassemble the prong with the buckle and to close the eye of the prongwith the aid of a conventional kick press. The buckle body, which may beof plain or covered wire stock, or a covered metal frame is formed in apreliminary operation, for example by the machine described in my UnitedStates Patent No. 2,739,376 of March 27, 1956. Following the formationof the buckle in any of the ways known to the prior art, the prong isplaced in the kick press with its eye opening upwardly, the supportingport-ion of the buckle body is inserted into the open eye, and the kickpress is pedally operated to close the eye thereby swingably mountingthe prong on the supporting portion of the buckle body. It will ofcourse, be appreciated that this approach to assembling the prongs onthe buckles is rather time consuming and requires that the operatorhandle each and every prong. The prongs tend to interleave andinterengage when in bulk, making the techniques described ratherinefficient, slow, and often presenting a manufacturing bottle neck.

In accordance with said copending application, a machine is provided forclinching prongs which includes sorting and transfer means which areengageable with successive prongs for supporting a supply of prongs inside by side relation. Clinching mechanisms are arranged to receive theprongs one at a time from the supply. Provision is made whereby anoperator can actuate the clinching mechanisms to close the eye of theprong about the supporting portion of the buckle body which is held inposition for clinching. The actuation of the clinching mechanisms areeffective to deliver successive prongs to the clinching location. Thus,the operator is merely required to place successive buckles into themachine and actuate the clinching mechanisms.

Further, I have found that conventional sorting mechanisms are notsuitable for feeding the prongs one at a time from the supply. Theprongs have a marked tendency to interengage, interleave, and interlock,due in part to their configuration. This tendency makes it impractical,if not impossible, to sort out the prongs with conventional mechanisms.

Still further, the problem is complicated by the fact that the prongsmust be fed to the clinching mechanisms in a prescribed orientation,that is with the open eyes all facing in the same direction. If thesorting device is not effective to feed the prongs with their open eyesproperly oriented, it would result in improper operation of theclinching mechanisms. It will, of course, be appreciated that it isimpractical to attempt the manual loading of the prong supply since thiswould require one operator to continuously feed prongs to the machineand another operator to actuate the clinching mechanisms.

In. accordance with the present invention, a sorting de- 2 vice isprovided for use with prongs of the type havin an open'eye which isconstructed to pick the prongs up from a supply and feed the picked-upprongs one at a time, and in proper orientation, to a transfer mechanismfor delivery to clinching mechanisms. In general, the sorting deviceincludes an inclined rotary hopper having a plurality ofprong-supporting pegs at spaced locations about its periphery. Thedimensions support, and location of the prong-supporting pegs are suchthat each prong is delicately balanced on its supporting peg. Anyaccumulations or nests of prongs resulting from the tendency of theprongs to interleave, cross over or piggy-back one upon the other isthus eliminated. The pegs are only capable of supporting a single prongand any of the enumerated conditions will cause unwanted prongs to fallfrom the peg. In that the device for sorting and pick-up of the prongsmay be operated at a rate much faster than the speed of operation of theclinching mechanisms, an adequate supply of prongs to the clinchingmechanisms is assured. The transfer means is arranged in relation to theprong-supporting pegs to receive only those prongs which are initiallypicked up in the properly oriented position for transfer; all otherprongs are either oriented during transfer or fall from the pegs andreturn to the supply. e r

The above brief description, as well as further objects, advantages, andfeatures of the present invention will be best appreciated by referenceto the following detailed description of a presently preferred butillustrative embodiment, when taken in conjunction with theaccompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a typical covered wire buckle having a prongswingably mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a typical sorting and clinchingmachine embodying features of the present invention, parts being brokenaway and in section for the sake of clarity;

' FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3' of FIG. 4 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, partially in perspective, taken fromthe right of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the lines55'of FIG. '4 and diagrammatically showing the transfer of successiveprongs from the sort ing hopper onto'the pick-01f or transfer bar;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5 diagrammatically showinga'further typical sequence of pick-off of FIG. 7 is a sectional viewtaken substantially along the lines 77 of FIG. 2, with partsbroken awayfor clarity, showing the clinching mechanisms in its normal orinoperative position, with a prong and buckle in posi tion for assembly;V v

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevation view, with parts broken away, showingthe kicker mechanism, which urges? FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional viewtaken substan-;

tially along the lines 11-11 of FIG. 8. .7 4 Although the detaileddescription'which is to follow; is concerned specifically with themanufacture of buckles wherein prongs are clinched onto a supporting'baror por-" tion of a buckle, it should be appreciated that the presentinvention finds application in other and related fields wherein it isnecessary to pick up pieces having an o en eye and which have a tendencyto interleave and to assemble said pieces by clinching.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 1, there is shown a buckle 20, whichis illustrated as a covered wire shape 22 having a metal clip or ferrule24 wrapped thereabout and a prong 26 swingably supported on the clip.The prong 26 includes an eye 28 which is adapted to be clinched aboutthe clip 24 and an elongated body or stem 60 which terminates in ahooked end 30a adapted to bear against the buckle body 22. The bucklebody, which may be fabricated of deformable wire stock having anappropriate covering of fabric, plastic, leather or the like may bemanufactured on an automatic basis by mechanisms described in thementioned patent.

I'In FIGS. 2 and 4, there is illustrated a preferred form of sorting andclinching machine demonstrating features of the present invention, whichmachine includes a sorting device 40, a pick-off or transfer member 42,and pedally-cperated clinching mechanisms 44. The sorting device 40 iseffective to deliver the prongs, a typical one being designated by theletter P, from a supply S to the pick-off or transfer member 42; whilethe clinching mechanisms 44 are arranged to receive the prongs one at atime for clinching under control of the operator.

Detailed reference will now be made to the structure of the sortingdevice 40 which includes a rotary hopper 46 arranged at an angleinclined with respect to the horizontal and adapted to be driven aboutits axis. Specif ically, the hopper 46 includes a flat bottom 48, acylindrical body 50 extending from the flat bottom 48, and an inwardlyextending frustral conical retaining flange 52 which terminates in acircular hopper mouth 54. Extending about the periphery of the hoppercontiguous to the bottom wall 48 is a curved annular skirt 56. The skirt56 is secured to the bottom wall 48 at a location inwardly ofcylindrical body 50 and curves upwardly and outwardly toward itsuppermost end which is secured to the body 50 at a location spaced abovethe bottom wall 48. At spaced locations about the skirt 56 are aplurality of prong-supporting pegs, each designated by the referencenumeral 58. The pegs 58 extend upwardly from the skirt 56 and areinclined in the direction of rotation of the hopper 46, as seen in FIG.4. The skirt 56 provides curved surfaces in proximity to the respectivemounting pegs 58 for a purpose which will be subsequently enlarged upon.The hopper 46 is mounted for rotation through provision of a bracket 60which is fixed to the frame proper 62. The bracket is provided with asleeve bearing 64 which receives a shaft 66 fixed coaxially of thehopper 46.by a mounting plate 68. The shaft 66 extends through thebearing 64 and carries a large diameter driven pulley 70 which iscoupled to a drive pulley 72 by a V-belt '74 trained about the pulleys70, 72. The drive pulley 72 is carried on the output shaft 76 of a motor78 which is mounted beneath the frame 62 by an appropriate bracket 80.Thus, in response to the energization of the motor 78, from a linesource (not shown), the hopper 46 is rotated about its axis or axle 66.The direction of drive is selected to be clockwise, as shown by thearrow in FIG. 4.

As the hopper 46 rotates successive pegs 58 sweep through the supply Sof prongs P. As the pegs pass through the supply there is a tendency forthe pegs to pick up the prongs. The overall height of each peg isselected so that it can engage within the eye of and support only oneprong. This coupled with the fact that the surfaces immediatelycontiguous to the prongs are somewhat relieved assures that only asingle prong will be picked up by each peg. There are no surfacesadjacent the peg which are capable of supporting more than one peg; andthe region immediately behind the peg itself .and against which the eyeportion of the prong bears is occupied by the supported prong.

Further, and as can be seen best in FIG. 2, the pegs are dependinglysupported from the prongs; thus any additional prongs which may haveinterleaved with the supported prong during pick-up are free to fall offof the supported prong. The pick-up action may best be illustrated inconnection with FIG. 4 by considering the successive positions of thepegs during a typical cycle of operation and drawing the analogy to aclock face. The pegs near the 12 oclock position are seen to dependinglysupport prongs and are directed upwardly and to the right. As the pegsmove toward the three oclock position, they begin toface downwardly.When the pegs'move through the 6 oclock position, they begin their sweepupwardly and to the left through the supply and engage and supportprongs at their open eyes. Finally, when the pegs move from the 6 oclockposition to the 12 oclock position, they have completed the pick-up ofprongs which are then in random orientation. For example, and as seen inFIG. 4, prong P has its eye facing to the right; while prong P has itseye facing to the left. As will be described hereinafter, the pick-offfinger or member 42 is effective to correct the orientation of prongswhich face to the left or to return these prongs to the supply S. Itwill be appreciated that the illustrated system for pick-up ofsuccessive prongs is structurally characterized by the provision forsupport of only one prong at a given location, thus doing away with anytendency which the prongs may have to bunch, nest or interengage.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 6 for a description ofthe operation of the pick-off or transfer member 42 which receivessuccessive prongs P from pegs 58 with the prongs in but a singleorientation. The transfer member '42 includes a main body'section 82 forthe storage thereon of oriented prongs and a curved pick-off section 84which extends upwardly intothe hopper 46 and terminates at a somewhatpointed end 86 located to engage behind successive prongs arriving atthe 12 oclock position. As seen best in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pick-ofisection 84 is flattened out and extends adjacent to the skirt 56 for adistance approximately equal to the spacing between two of the pegs 58.Accordingly, in response to the rotation of the hopper in the clockwisedirection the depending body portions of the successive prongs pass infront of the pick-off section 84. The pick-off section 84 is spacedbelow the general level of the pegs 58 and located such that it maysupport successive prongs P as they fall from their supporting pegs.

Referring now to FIG. 5, which is a fragmentary plan View, the action ofthe pick-off or transfer member 42 will be further described withrespect to prongs P which have their eyes directed toward the right andare considered to be in proper oriented position for pick-off by theleading section 84 of the member 42. The prongs 58 are moving toward theright, corresponding to clockwise rotation in FIG. 4. As the leadingpointed end 86 of the pick-off section 84 passes behind successiveprongs arriv ing at the 12 oclock location there is a tendency for thesuccessive prongs to be cammed away from the adjacent curved surfaces56. Due to the curvature of the pick-off section 84 this camming actionis continued while the prongs hang on their supporting pegs 58. Thiscamming action manifests itself in rotation of the open eye to facetoward the curved surfaces 56 (away from the viewer in FIG. 5). Thus,the prongs P fall from their supporting pegs in a position whichvirtually assures pick-up by the leading section 84 of the pick-off ortransfer member 42.

References will now be made to FIG. 6, which is a view similar to FIG.5, illustrating the action of the transfer member 42 in relation toprongs P which are improperly oriented when initially picked up by theprong supporting pegs 58. For such prongs, the tendency of the prongs topivot about their own axes so that their respective eyes are directedrearwardly is not quite as great as that for prongs which have theorientation P. Perhaps this may be attributed to the fact that the openeyes of the prongs P are faced in a direction opposite to the directionof rotation. In any event, the prongs P are either knockedoif of thesupporting pegs 53 and returned to the supply S; or if the open eye iscammed to a position overlying the pick-off section 84 when the prongsfall from the supporting pegs, such prongs will be picked up by theleading section 84 with the required orientation.

Reference will now be made to the several figures for a detaileddescription of the construction and operation of the clinchingmechanisms 44. Specifically, the clinching mechanisms 44 include a fixedclinching tool or anvil 90* and a movable clinching tool 92 which may bepivoted into operative relation to the fixed clinching tool. The fixedclinching tool 90 forms part of a gravity transfer chute 94. Thisassembly is supported by an upstanding bracket 96 adjacent the rearwardend of the gravity transfer chute 94 and an upstanding post 98 connectedby a U-shaped bracket 100 adjacent the foremost end of the chute 94..The transfer chute 94 includes upstanding side walls 102, 104 which arespaced apart at a distance slightly in excess of the width of the prongsP. The wall 104 includes an integral extension 106 adjacent its rearmostend which serves as an abutment plate, as will subsequently bedescribed. The wall 102, -104 are connected by a bottom wall 108 whichterminates in the fixed clinching anvil, seen in FIG. 7 to be acontinuation of the bottom wall 108 and curved to conform to the eyesection of the prongs.

As seen best in FIG. 1, the movable clinching tool 92 is supported on asplit clamping block 108 which is mounted on shaft 110 journaled inbearings 112, 1.14 disposed at opposite sides of the chute 94. Themovable clinching tool is L-shaped and includes a horizontal leg 92awhich extends over the stationary anvil 90 and is formed with an annulargroove which is adapted to accornmodate the eye section of the prongduring the clinching operation. The movable clinching tool 92 isadjust-. able in relation to the split clamping block through provisionof a set screw 116. In initially setting up the machine, the movabletool "92 is positioned relative to the supporting block 108 so that thetool 92 properly cooperates with the clinching anvil upon rocking of thetool 92 through its prescribed arcuate thrust in the counterclockwisedirection, as viewed in FIG. 4. Provision is made for arcuate adjustmentof the split clamping block 108 about the shaft 110 by set screw 118.

v Integral with the shaft 110 is a foot lever 120 which has a treadle122 which is engaged by the foot of the operator who stands in front ofthe machine, that is to the left in FIG. 4. It will be appreciated thatin response to the pivoting of the foot lever away from the operator,that is counterclockwise in FIG. 4 from the full line to the broken lineposition, the movable clinching tool 92 will be moved into its clinchingposition relative to the anvil, 90. By proper adjustment of thefull-line retracted position of the clinching tool 92, as illustrated inFIG. 4, a prescribed clinching pressure may be obtained. The limitposition of the lever 120 under actuation is illustrated by the brokenlines in FIG. 4 and is determined by a fixed stop 124 secured to theunder side of the machine frame in position to limit thecounterclockwise pivoting ofthe lever 120. For example, to decrease theclinching pressure for the prescribed arcuate thrust of the foot lever,the supporting block is translated in a counterclockwise direction inFIG. 4 to displace the movable clinching tool 92 further from theclinching anvil 90.

Conversely greater pressure may be applied for the. given arcuate thrustby having the clinching tool 92 closer to the anvil in the normalposition. The clinching pressure required is determined by the type ofprongs and buckles being worked with the machine. I

The prongs P are delivered one at a time from the transfer member 42 tothe gravity feed chute 94 as a result of the pedal operation of themovable clinching tool 92. The structure to be described is effectiveduring the return stroke of the clinching tool to its normal position inFIG. 4 (movement of the foot lever 120 in the clockwise, direction fromthe broken line position to the 6 full line position) to feed the nextprong into the chute for delivery to the clinching position, asillustrated in FIG. 7. Thus after the clinching pressure is applied, theoperator manually removes the assembly of the buckle and the prong andthe next prong is automatically fed into position for clinching. As seenbest in FIGS. 3 and 10, the transfer finger or member 42 includes aterminal end 42a arranged at a level well below the pick-off section 84and the major portion of the storage section 82. The portion of thestorage section 82 adjacent the terminal and 42a extends horizontallyand is designated in FIGS. 10 and 11 by the reference character 82a. Asthe prongs are picked ofi by the section 84 they travel by gravitytoward the terminal end 42a and are stacked up in side by side relationwith their elongated stems depending and with their open eyes all facingin the same direction, that is rearwardly as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and8. The terminal end 42a of the transfer member terminates at a locationspaced from the adjacent confronting face 106a of the abutment plate106. This spacing is selected to be of a width slightly in excess of thewidth of the individual prongs, as seen in FIGS. 10 and 11. The foremostprong which is urged toward the abutment plate 106 by the prongs stackedup behind it is maintained on the horizontal extension 82a of thetransfer member due to a kicker member 126 which lies against the innerface 106a of the abutment plate 106 and is seen in FIGS. 7 and 10 to atleast partially bridge the space between the terminal end 42a and theconfronting face 106a of the abutment plate 106. The kicker member 126is mounted, as seen best in FIG. 3, for pivotal movement on a bolt 128which is supported on a bracket 130 fixed to the frame of the machine ata location spaced inwardly of and generally parallel to the transferchute 94. The kicker.

member 126 is biased into contact with the inner face 106a of theabutment plate by a spring 132 which surrounds the bolt 128 and urgesthe kicker member to the right in FIG. 3. This mounting structuresupports the kicker member 126 for pivotal movement about the axis ofthe bolt 128, while the kicker member is resiliently urged against theabutment plate 106.

The abutment plate 106 carries an adjustable shoe 134 which cooperateswith the kicker member 126 in a manner to be subsequently described. Theshoe 134 is mounted on the abutment plate 106 by a machine bolt 136which extends through an elongated slot 138 provided in the abutmentplate. The shoe 134 includes a ledge 134a which extends generally towardthe bottom wall 108 of the transfer chute 94 and an inclined contactsurface 134b which is adapted to engage the free end' of the elongatedbody or stem of the prong. In general the shoe 134 cooperates with thekicker member 126 to assure the delivery of the prongs to the transferchute 94 with the open eye foremost. The details of the cooperation willbe described in conjunction with the description of a typical sequenceof operation.

Means are provided which coordinate the operation of the movableclinching tool 92 and the kicker member 26 whereby clinching of oneprong brings about feed of the next prong into the uppermost end of thegravity feed chute 94. This means includes an adjustable length linkage140 which is connected to the shaft 110 and to the kicker member 126.Specifically, an attachment yoke 142 is fixed on the shaft 110intermediate the supporting block 108 and the bearing 114, the yokecarrying a pin 144 on which is engaged a collar 146a of a connectinghead '146. at one end of the adjustable linkage 140. The other end ofthe adjustable linkage 140 is connected to the kicker member 126 by afurther connecting head 148 having a collar 148a'supported on a pin 150which is carried ona link bar 152 fixed to the kicker member 126.

' From the foregoing it will be seen that the kicker member 126 isretracted to the position illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 11 in response toswinging of the clinching tool 92 toward the anvil 90; and uponreturn ofthe clinching tool.

92 to its normal position away from the anvil 90, the kicker member 126moves to the position illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 10. The kicker memberincludesa nose portion 126a terminating in a camming edge 1261). In theposition of FIGS. 7 and of the nose portions 126a keeps the foremostprong P from entering into the space between the terminal end 42a of thetransfer member 42 and the abutment plate 106.

Within the horizontal extension 82a of the transfer member 42, which isseen in FIGS. 10 and 11 to be hollow, there is arranged a ball or detent154 which is biased toward the abutment plate 106 by a spring 156 whichis urged against the ball and bears against a plug or stop 158 mountedwithin the tubular extension 82a. When the nose portion 126a of thekicker member 126 is in front of the terminal end 42a the ball 154 isurged away from the abutment plate 106 and is urged to within theconfines of the extension 82a. When the kicker member is withdrawn asseen best in FIG. 11, the ball 154 is urged into contact with theabutment plate 106 by the spring 156. Thus despite the fact that thekicker member has been withdrawn, the foremost prong P does not fallinto the chute 94 but rather is held in position for transfer by theball 154. It is apparent that as the kicker member 126 moves through itsreturn stroke the prong P which has entered the transfer chute and isheld by the ball 154 is urged past the ball to free the same to fallinto the transfer chute for delivery to the anvil. This action may bebest appreciated by progressively inspecting FIGS. 8 and 9. In theposition of FIG. 8, the kicker member is fully retracted. As shown bythe full line position in FIG. 9 the kicker member has engaged the prongwhich is supported on the ball 154, such engagement occurring at thecamming surface 1261). Continued swinging movement of the kicker member128 in the counterclockwise direction from the full line position ofFIG; 9 to the broken line position (which corresponds to the positionillustrated in FIG. 7) causes the foremost prong Pf to pivot in theclockwise direction about the supporting ball and extension 82. Theprong is displaced until the hooked end engages the sloping surface 134kof the shoe 134. Simultaneously, with this pivotal movement, the eyeportion of the prong is urged past the spring biased ball 144 so thatthe prongs fall with the eye portion foremost, as illustrated by thesuccessive brokenline positions of the prong in FIG. 9. Thus thetransfer is effectuated in a manner assuring proper delivery of theprongs to the clinching mechanisms. Other arrangements are within thecontemplation of the present invention for releasing the prongs fromtheir supporting position on the spring biased ball 154 in a mannerassuring proper delivery to the transfer chute 94.

In order to facilitate a more thorough understanding of the presentinvention, a typical sequence of operation will now be described indetail:

A supply of prongs S is loaded into the feed hopper 46 of the sortingdevice 40* and the operator places the sorting device in operation byenergizing the motor 78, for example by tripping a foot-operated or ahand-operated switch at some convenient location front of the machine.In a very short period of time, the sorting device builds up a supply ofprongs on the transfer member 42, part of which supply is seen in FIGS.10 and 11. The operator sitting in front of the machine actuates thefoot lever 1'20 to cause a first prong to be delivered to the anvil 90.Thereupon, the operator assembles the buckle B with the prong P, asillustrated in FIG. 7; upon operating the foot lever again, clinchingpressure is applied to the prong to close the same about the supportingportion of the buckle to complete the assembly. During the return strokeof the clinching tool 92 which is brought about by the tendency of thelever 120 to return to its normal position, the next prong isautomatically delivered to the clinching anvil 90. Thein-terval betweenwhen the clinching operation is completed and the next prong isdelivered is sutficient for the operator to remove the completedassembly of the previous buckle and prong. Continued operation merelyinvolves placing successive buckles into assembly with the prongs, andoperation of the foot treadle.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that certain aspects of thepresent invention are quite readily susceptible to further automation.For example provision may be made for periodically interrupting theoperation of the sorting device when a predetermined supply of prongsbuild up on the transfer member 42. Further in lieu of the pedaloperation, provision may be made for automatically cycling the machineat intervals selected to allow for the operator to achieve the requisitemanual assembly of the buckle and prong and removal of the completedassembly.

Numerous modifications of the apparatus of the present invention willoccur to those skilled in the art and accordingly the appended claimsshould be given a latitude of interpretation consistent with thedisclosure. At certain times some features of the invention will be usedwithout a corresponding use of other features.

What I claim is:

1. A sorting device for use with buckle prongs each having an open eyecomprising a rotary hopper arranged at an angle inclined with respect tothe horizontal, said hopper having a bottom wall and a cylindrical body,a plurality of spaced prong-supporting pegs at spaced locations aboutthe periphery of said hopper and at locations spaced from said bottomwall, and means for mounting said pegs on said hopper including anannular flange having its lower edge in contact with said bottom walland having its upper edge in contact with said cylindrical body, saidflange being concavely curved between its lower and upper edges.

2. A sorting device adapted for sorting objects formed with open eyescomprising a rotatable hopper adapted to contain said objects,peg-supporting means on said hopper, peg means projecting from saidpeg-supporting means positioned and sized to engage said eyes forsuspending said objects therefrom in response to rotation of saidhopper, removal means positioned for camming said objects off said pegmeans in response to further rotation of said hopper, means shaped toadmit said removal means behind said objects for camming said objects,and means positioned to catch said open eyes as said objects fall fromsaid peg means in response to camming thereof.

3. A sorting device adapted for sorting objects formed with eyes open atone side comprising a rotatable hopper adapted to contain said objects,peg-supporting means on said hopper, peg means projecting from saidpeg-supporting means positioned and sized to engage said eyes forsuspending said objects therefrom in response to rotation of saidhopper, removal means positioned for camming said objects oif said pegmeans in response to further rotation of said hopper, means shaped toadmit said removal means behind said objects for camming said objects,and means positioned to catch only the open side,

of said eyes as said objects fall from said peg means in response tocamming thereof.

4. A sorting device for use with buckle prongs, each having an open eyecomprising a rotary hopper arranged at an angle inclined with respect tothe horizontal, said hopper having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall,a

plurality of spaced prong-supporting pegs at spaced locations about theperiphery of said hopper and at locations spaced from said bottom wall,and means for mounting said pegs on said hopper including an-annularflange having its lower edge in contact with said bottom wall and havingits upper edge in contact with said peripheral wall, said flange beingconcavely curved between its lower and upper edges.

5. A sorting device for use with buckle prongs, each having an open eye,comprising a rotary hopper arranged at an angle inclined with respect tothe horizontal, said hopper having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall,means to rotate said hopper about its central axis, a plurality ofspaced prong-supporting pegs mounted on said hopper at spaced locationsabout said peripheral wall of said hopper and at locations spaced fromsaid bottom wall, means including curved surfaces about each of saidprong-supporting pegs providing a clearance space between the prongssupported on said pegs and said curved surfaces when said pegs arerotated to a pickcfl? location, and means for entering said clearancespace at said pick-oil location and to pick-off said prongs from saidpegs.

6. A sorting device for use with buckle prongs, each having an open eye,comprising a rotary hopper arranged at an angle inclined with respect tothe horizontal, said hopper having a bottom wall and a peripheral Wall,a plurality of spaced prong-srupporting pegs at spaced locations aboutthe periphery of said hopper and at 10- cations spaced from said bottomwall, means for mounting said pegs on said hopper including an annularflange having its lower edge in contact with said bottom wall and havingits upper edge in contact with said peripheral wall, said flange beingconcavely curved between its lower and upper edges, and means to rotatesaid hopper about the central axis thereof, said pegs being inclined inthe direction of rotation of said hopper.

7. A sorting device for use with buckle prongs, each having an open eye,comprising a rotary hopper arranged at an angle inclined with respect tothe horizontal, said hopper having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall,a plurality of spaced prong-supporting pegs mounted on said hopper atspaced locations about the periphery of said hopper and at locationsspaced from said bottom wall, said pegs being efiective to engage saidopen eyes of said prongs, means for providing a clearance space adjacentsaid prongs when supported on said pegs including curved surfaces aboutsaid pegs, means to rotate said hopper about its central axis, and cammeans positioned to enter said clearance space for engagement with saidprongs to cam said prongs oif said pegs in response to rotation of saidhopper, said camming means being positioned to catch said open eyes assaid buckle prongs fall from said pegs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSHavener Oct. 19, 1915

